Tory crime bill will overburden court system: retired judges

A group of justice critics, including two retired judges, spoke out Thursday against the federal government’s omnibus crime bill, saying they worry it could result in a “litany of negative consequences” for the justice system

A group of justice critics, including two retired judges, spoke out Thursday against the federal government’s omnibus crime bill, saying they worry it could result in a “litany of negative consequences” for the justice system.

The judges, retired chief Yukon judge Barry Stuart and former Ontario Superior Court judge James Chadwick, said they had yet to see evidence that bill C-10 would reduce crime or the already heavy load on the justice system.

Chadwick said he worries the mandatory minimum sentences required in the Safe Streets and Communities Act could lead to fewer pleas and more trials that last longer.

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The longer those trials last, the more likely it may be that the case gets thrown out because of a delay in justice, he said.

“One size does not fit all in the sentencing structure,” Chadwick told reporters at a news conference in Ottawa.

“There will be more trials . . . and there may be more acquittals.”

Stuart said the government has spent more money and has provided more evidence on reasons to purchase the F-35 fighter jet than on evidence to support the more than 1,000 clauses contained in Bill C-10.

“I’d like the same test applied to the justice system,” Stuart said.

He said there is too much focus in the act on punishment rather than on prevention and not enough attention paid to involving community groups, which he did while a judge in the North.

A spokeswoman for Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said the measures contained in the bill have publicly received support from police and victims groups.

Those shows of support have happened in front of a group of senators reviewing the bill. Police have said the tools in C-10 are what they need to deal with criminals, while victim advocates say the tough-on-crime bill meets the beliefs of many Canadians.

“This legislation responds directly to recommendations put forth by victims and law enforcement, many of whom testified before the Senate committee in the past week,” Nicholson spokeswoman Julie Di Mambro said in an email to Postmedia News.

The critique of the omnibus crime bill from the retired judges came on the same day that a Senate committee continued its review of the legislation.

The judges, along with a former Progressive Conservative MP and the former federal victims of crime ombudsman, admitted that with a Conservative majority in the Senate, the bill likely will receive approval.

However, they suggested senators enshrine into the legislation a mandatory review every five years to see if the Safe Streets and Communities Act is doing what its name intends.

“Fear is at the basis of much of the government’s work here,”said David Daubney, a former Progressive Conservative MPand chairman of the House of Commons justice committee.

“What (C-10) is going to do is make Canadians more fearful and less safe.”

Daubney said the problem now is that offenders don’t have access to rehabilitation programs until late in their sentence.

“Prisons are not the place to treat people,”Daubney said.

Meanwhile, correctional investigator Howard Sapers told the Senate legal affairs committee that at one maximum security prison near Edmonton, it would be a surprise if even 10 of the more than 300 inmates there were taking part in programs.

Former ombudsman Steve Sullivan said the government is taking too narrow a view that simply punishing criminals more under its omnibus crime bill would help victims heal.

“The majority of people (who work with victims) realize what happens in court rooms isn’t going to help victims very much,”Sullivan told reporters at the news conference.

He said the government should be investing in services and programs for victims of crime, rather than heaping more burden on the court system or else show evidence that the spending is worthwhile.

“Everything this government does is political,” Sullivan said. “I don’t think that’s a responsible government.”

The bill is scheduled to receive clause-by-clause scrutiny beginning Friday.

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